America’s 25 Best Sports Bars

Taking everything from beer and wings to game watchability into consideration, these are the best sports bars in the country

Major Goolsbys

A good sports bar has the best beer, food, game day spirit, and eyeball-to-TV ratio.

If you think Hollywood is serious about awards season, you’ve got to get into the mind of a sports fan. For most, watching the game is a bigger deal than digging into a bag of chips in a worn-out La-Z-Boy. If you want to do game day right, you do it at a sports bar.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a sports fan, visiting a good sports bar can be fun. It’s the kind of place where everyone in attendance has the same common goal and is praying for the same thing, and all attending fists are clenched in disgust at the same striped shirt-wearing official. Sure, everyone’s back to being strangers when they hit the curb, but for four quarters, the sports bar is the greatest place on earth.

It’s not all about the game, though. A great sports bar not only makes it easy for its guests to watch the game, but also ensures that the rest of their needs are met, too: hunger, thirst, and commercial break entertainment, to name a few.

At Lagasse’s Las Vegas, the sports bar affiliated with the Food Network’s OG chef, the food is just as good as the feeling of nailing a 50-yard field goal. Kicked-up game day fare includes shrimp and andouille sausage etouffee served in a setting complete with over 100 TVs. And if you’re into getting up close and personal with authentic athletes' gear and mementos, a visit to Chappell’s in Kansas City is in order. There, sports fans cheer on their team while surrounded by Super Bowl rings and signed jerseys.

We examined some of the best sports bars in the country, taking into consideration their “best of” praise, fan support, viewing experience, beer availability, and the bar’s overall spirit. Nothing is worse than watching the game in a place where the server/bartender is more worried about Candy Crush than winning the cup/trophy/ring/title.

#25Between the Buns, Indiana

Be part of the crowd or have your own party at Between the Buns, where each booth gets its own TV and a slew of other screens ensure that everyone is watching what he or she wants. A self-serve Bloody Mary bar and one-dollar Miller High Lifes appeal to many customers, as does the fact that all locations (there are five) pay homage to area teams by displaying high school and college memorabilia alongside the pro stuff. Buns MVPs earn points towards their tab and area locals have voted this the Best Sports Bar in South Bend, Mishawaka, and Elkhart.

#24 33 Taps, Los Angeles

You guessed it. There are 33 beers on tap at this LA sports bar, where fun food like mac ‘n cheese-topped burgers and enchilada-style nachos make getting your grub enjoyable. As do the beer-shot combo list that includes a Shock Top & Raspberry Vodka pairing for just eight bucks. There are TVs everywhere you look – 55 of them to be exact – and the place will open in the morning if there happens to be a game on.